The economic impact of international students

This briefing outlines new figures for 2014–15 on the economic impact of international students studying in
the UK.

The research was conducted for Universities UK by Oxford Economics. It highlights the important
contribution that international students make to both national GDP and export earnings. It sets out data
that shows the jobs generated by international students at a regional level and the income they provide
local businesses.

This data is part of a larger study analysing the economic impact of UK universities and of
international students to be published in spring 2017. Unless otherwise stated, reference to international
students in this briefing includes both EU and non-EU students.

In 2014–15:

On- and off-campus spending by international students and their visitors generated £25.8 billion in gross output for the UK economy.This activity contributed £13.8 billion gross value added (GVA) to UK GDP.

On- and off-campus spending by international students and their visitors supports jobs all over Britain, supporting 206,600 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs nationally.

International students are good for the British economy as a whole, being responsible for £10.8 billion of UK export earnings.

Spending by international students outside of university fees and accommodation (ie ‘off-campus’ spending) amounted to £5.4 billion.

International students also boost other British industries, for example adding £750 million to the UK transport industry and £690 million to the retail industry.

The economic activity and employment sustained by international students’ off-campus spending generated £1 billion in tax revenues. This is the equivalent to the salaries of 31,700 nurses or 25,000 police officers.

​The economic impact of international students on the English regions

This briefing also presents some of the key figures on the impact of international students at a UK and
regional level for the nine regions of England.

This impact is particularly
significant in the context of the government’s Industrial Strategy and objectives to sustain and grow
regional economies.

News

Vivienne Stern, Director of Universities UK International, has today (Tuesday 12 February) called on the government to lower the proposed salary requirement for EEA workers to gain a high-skilled work visa; to £21,000.

Universities UK has launched a national #SupportStudyAbroad campaign asking the UK government to commit to continue funding study abroad opportunities for UK students, even if the UK cannot negotiate continued participation in the Erasmus+ programme.